Japan Press Weekly

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2007 November 14 - 20 [SDF]

Former vice defense minister names 2 former defense chiefs entertained by defense contractor

Former Vice Defense Minister Moriya Takemasa, who maintained a corrupt relationship with a defense contractor during his tenure in office, testified that former Defense Agency Directors General (later Defense Minister) Kyuma Fumio and Nukaga Fukushiro (now finance minister) were entertained separately by an executive of the same contractor. This put in sharp relief the cozy relationship between political, military, and business circles.

Appearing as a sworn witness before the House of Councilors Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on November 15, Moriya testified about two occasions when he was entertained by Miyazaki Motonobu, former executive of Yamada Corporation. He said that Kyuma had been present on one such occasion a couple of years earlier at a Japanese restaurant near the former Defense Agency headquarters and that Nukaga had been at another dinner with him about two years earlier at a Japanese restaurant in Kanda, Tokyo, and that James Auer, former U.S. Defense Department special assistant for Japan was also present.

Asked by Japanese Communist Party representative Inoue Satoshi about the details of the dinner with Nukaga, Moriya answered that four people were at the dinner, including Akiyama Naoki, who is well-known for arranging introductions and cozy relationships between Japanese politicians and the arms industry.

Akiyama is a full-time executive of the Japan-U.S. Center for Peace and Cultural Exchange and secretary general of the lawmakers’ Council for National Security, which jointly sponsor the annual seminar called the “Japan-U.S. Security Strategy Conference” that calls for “missile defense” and other areas of arms buildup. Japanese participants include Liberal Democratic Party and Democratic Party lawmakers who are advocates of arms buildup.

Pressed by Inoue to answer the question what the four people who have such influence on the arms industry had discussed, Moriya answered, “I do not remember at all,” thus leaving questions unanswered.
- Akahata, November 16, 2007